Repositioning for Recovery: Upgrades, Conversions & Optimization of Life Sciences Assets

Design, Construction, and Infrastructure Strategies for Breathing New Life Into Underperforming Labs and Campuses

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  Geoff Sears

  Partner

  Wareham Development

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  David Farrell

  Mr. Farrell joined Blue Rise Ventures via Local Capital Group in May 2019 and currently acts as a Partner, responsible for leasing, asset management, and acquisitions. Prior to joining Blue Rise, Mr. Farrell spent three years at Terreno Realty Corporation as an acquisitions and asset management associate. During his time at Terreno, he completed 24 transactions totaling over $350 million. He also oversaw operations, leasing, and construction management for a 5 million square foot industrial portfolio. Mr. Farrell received a BBA in both Real Estate and Finance from the University of San Diego. He currently lives in San Francisco and enjoys cycling and playing soccer.

  Blue Rise Ventures

  Partner

  David Farrell

  Partner

  Blue Rise Ventures

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  Eddie Hall

  Eddie Hall, AIA is a Project Architect and senior associate at MBH Architects, a multi-disciplinary firm headquartered in the East Bay. He joined the firm in 2010, bringing a history of hands-on construction experience paired with enthusiasm for design and craftsmanship, emerging material technologies, and digital design practices. As a member of MBH’s Urban Studio, Eddie leads some of the firm’s most complex and challenging projects including the adaptive reuse of the historic Uptown Station / H.C. Capwell’s Department Store in downtown Oakland, now a tech company headquarters with ground floor retail and public amenity space. Eddie is currently managing the construction of a 96,000 square foot life science laboratory on the San Francisco Peninsula as well as the development of a new public landmark project in San Jose, which won an international design competition.

  MBH Architects

  Studio Director, Senior Associate

  Eddie Hall

  Studio Director, Senior Associate

  MBH Architects

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  Joe Chin

  VP

  Western Allied Mechanical

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  Jesse Swafford

  Jesse is a Principal at GCI General Contractors and the South San Francisco Office Head. He has built and fostered relationships with many of GCI’s biggest clients, staffing sizable teams for ongoing campus work. Hard-working and detail-oriented, Jesse drives his team to execute efficiently and accurately. He began in the field over 20 years ago as a laborer and eventually became a superintendent. Jesse brings this invaluable mix of experience to provide superior project planning and execution. He is passionate about overdelivering on expectations as he works to complete some of GCI’s most complex lab and infrastructure projects.

  GCI

  Principal

  Jesse Swafford

  Principal

  GCI

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  Greg Zoll

  Greg is a CPA and seasoned auditor with 20 years of experience in public accounting, specializing in the life sciences sector. Throughout his career, he has worked with companies of all sizes, from early-stage startups and pre-revenue ventures to multi-billion dollar organizations. Greg’s expertise includes guiding life sciences businesses as they scale, helping them navigate the complexities of financial planning, regulatory hurdles, and M&A transactions and IPOs. He has partnered with innovative companies before their drugs received FDA approval and has seen many of them successfully acquired by major pharmaceutical firms. Greg is known for providing straightforward, actionable advice, drawing from real-world experience to support businesses at every stage of development.

  CBIZ

  Managing Director

  Moderator

  Greg Zoll

  Managing Director

  CBIZ

How Universities & Incubators Fuel Innovation and Growth

Advancing and Supporting Research, Talent, Capital, and Space Into Scalable Innovation Platforms

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  Chris Haskell, Ph.D.

  Chris has responsibility for all aspects of the JLABS @ San Francisco Bay Area, as well as supporting the broader ecosystem through external presence and partnerships. He leads sourcing and diligence for JLABS portfolio companies in alignment with J&J focus areas to assess strategic fit. He collaborates with the broader JJI organization, in particular the JJI West North America regional team, to position and enable partnerships and investments between J&J and JLABS companies to strengthen the innovation pipeline. He leads the JLABS @ San Francisco Bay Area team, with responsibility for site operations and budget. Chris joined JLABS from Bayer’s West Coast Open Innovation Center. The Open Innovation Center supported Bayer’s Drug Discovery activities by developing and managing partnerships with U.S. academic research institutions and life science companies. Chris was also responsible for cultivating life science startups within the CoLaborator, a biotech incubator space developed to foster collaboration between Bayer and emerging innovators. Concurrent with this role, Chris actively participated in the local Bay Area startup ecosystem, contributing to various initiatives that aimed to support the growth and success of early biotech companies. He has served as a mentor in various startup support programs affiliated with organizations such as QB3, SkyDeck, and the California Life Science FAST program. In addition, Chris served as Chair of the California Life Science Institute’s Board of Advisors. This organization (now merged with California Life Sciences) plays a crucial role in fostering entrepreneurship, science education, and workforce development in the San Francisco Bay Area. In previous roles at Bayer, Chris held various scientific leadership positions in drug development, including the Acting Head of Applied Research, the unit responsible for hemostasis research and drug development. Following the founding of the Open Innovation group, Chris directed a group that led alliances between Bayer and early innovators in the biotech and academic sectors, including programs in gene therapy, ophthalmology, oncology and cardiovascular disease. Chris earned his PhD in Cell Biology from the University of California, Davis followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at The Gladstone Institute in San Francisco. He also earned a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Throughout his career, Chris has worked closely with emerging startups in the Bay Area, from strategy development to execution of strategic partnerships, across many domains including antibody discovery, genomics, and immune-oncology cell therapy.

  Johnson & Johnson

  Head of JLABS, Bay Area

  Chris Haskell, Ph.D.

  Head of JLABS, Bay Area

  Johnson & Johnson

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  Darren Cooke

  Darren Cooke is the interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer at UC Berkeley. He is also the executive director of UC Berkeley’s Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center, a professional faculty member at the Haas School of Business, and past chair of the Bio Track at the Berkeley SkyDeck startup accelerator. Cooke teaches entrepreneurship at Haas and for the Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program for the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. He is an investor and former chair of Medical Device and Digital Health at Life Science Angels. As an attorney, Cooke led the IP legal team for the life science tools group of Bio-Rad Laboratories, and was a life sciences patent litigator at Covington & Burling. Before law school, he was a mechanical engineer developing cochlear implants at UCSF.

  UC Berkeley

  Interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer

  Darren Cooke

  Interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer

  UC Berkeley

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  Stephen Blair

  Steve has dedicated his career to ensuring science thrives. He leads CannonDesign's award-winning Science & Technology Practice and guides teams in designing projects that supercharge discovery—from buildings designed to develop life-saving cancer treatments to environments that further exploration of space’s outer limits. Steve’s goal on any project is to ensure scientists and researchers across government, health and commercial sectors have optimized, healthy and exhilarating environments where they are able to perform at their best. He partners with top organizations to break barriers, demand more change and take the next steps to achieve their research potential.

  CannonDesign

  Principal, Science & Technology Practice Director

  Stephen Blair

  Principal, Science & Technology Practice Director

  CannonDesign

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  Joseph Marshall

  As a principal in HGA’s Science + Technology practice, Joseph works with clients to deliver projects that balance functionality, resilience, and design excellence in life sciences research environments. With more than 30 years of experience, his portfolio includes work with corporate life sciences developers, public agencies, and leading academic research institutions. Joseph’s leadership is characterized by a collaborative approach and clear communication, fostering strong project teams and effective partnerships. Working out of our San Francisco office, he is actively engaged in professional organizations, educational initiatives, and thought leadership forums, demonstrating his dedication to advancing the architectural profession and promoting innovation throughout the industry.

  HGA

  Principal, Science + Technology

  Joseph Marshall

  Principal, Science + Technology

  HGA

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  Carmen Domingo

  Carmen Domingo became the dean of the College of Science and Engineering at San Francisco State University in 2019, marking historic milestone as the first women and Latina to hold this position. She oversees the largest college at the university, serving over 7000 majors. Joining SF State as an assistant professor of Biology in 1997, Carmen later served as associate chair of Biology from 2007 to 2015 and was the interim dean in 2017. An expert in vertebrate embryology, she has taught and mentored hundreds of students in both the classroom and research lab, many of whom have pursued excellent Ph.D. programs and careers in biomedical sciences. Carmen has secured numerous grants from the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, private foundations and non-profit organizations. These grants support her research activities, student training, STEM diversity efforts, and professional development opportunities for faculty. In 2018 she was elected as a California Academy of Sciences fellow. Recently, she oversaw the construction of a 125,000 sq. ft. all-electric science and engineering building dedicated to advancing STEM teaching and research. Carmen earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley in 1995. She was a recipient of a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship from 1995 to 1997 in the Integrative Biology Department at UC Berkeley.

  SFSU

  Dean of the College of Science and Engineering

  Moderator

  Carmen Domingo

  Dean of the College of Science and Engineering

  SFSU

Building & Designing Flexible, Advanced & Scalable Labs

How Leading Developers, Architects, and Contractors Are Future-Proofing Facilities for Evolving Research Needs

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  Jamie Choy

  Jamie joined King Street in 2022 and has over 20 years of experience in construction and real estate development. As Senior Director, he is responsible for overseeing the firm’s development activities in the Western United States. He holds a B.A. from McGill University as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

  King Street Properties

  Senior Director

  Jamie Choy

  Senior Director

  King Street Properties

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  Claire Drummond

  Claire serves as the Vice President and Market Executive for Wexford’s first development in California- Aggie Square. She is responsible for overseeing the design, construction, leasing, operations and deal management. Aggie Square is a 1 million SF development on UC Davis’ Sacramento campus. With two 7-story lab buildings, one academic office tower, a mixed-use residential component and parking- the Project is estimated to bring over $1.1 billion of development to the Sacramento market. This development will also showcase Connect Labs by Wexford, Wexford’s marquee shared lab and office offering. Prior to joining the Wexford team, Claire was a Senior Program Manager at Arizona State University; leading the place-based innovation efforts for the Entrepreneurship + Innovation team. This included the oversight of design & construction of new spaces for the program; programmatic and operational design & daily oversight of the existing portfolio sites; leading a team of six; and launching a premier, community-facing makerspace. Before her time at ASU, Claire worked at CIC (the Cambridge Innovation Center), curating a diverse portfolio of clients for the CIC Boston location; helping to design and implement data analytics for the company-wide sales goals; and eventually leading the expansion into Providence, Rhode Island. She received her Bachelor of Science and of Arts in Operations Management and in Spanish from the University of North Carolina- Asheville and a Masters of Global Affairs in Innovation Ecosystems from the University of Toronto.

  Wexford Science + Technology

  VP, Development + Market Executive

  Claire Drummond

  VP, Development + Market Executive

  Wexford Science + Technology

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  Shirley Yee

  Project Executive

  DPR Construction

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  Vlad Pajkic

  Vladimir Pajkic has extensive international experience envisioning and executing high-profile projects across a variety of building typologies, with an emphasis on research buildings for both academic and private clients. He has also led the design on mixed use, urban design, master planning, museums, high-rise, and hospitality projects. Vladimir joined ZGF following over a decade with Herzog & de Meuron, where as a partner, his experience includes projects in North America, Asia, and Europe. Originally from Croatia, Vladimir earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University.

  ZGF Architects

  Partner

  Vlad Pajkic

  Partner

  ZGF Architects

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  Amanda Delfosse

  Amanda is a hardworking and detail-oriented Superintendent, responsible for overseeing and managing all day-to-day jobsite activities including compliance with safety and quality standards, project team performance, and effective trade partner management. Amanda proactively addresses any challenges while ensuring that all aspects of construction are transparent and consistent with the contracted scope of work.

  Suffolk Construction

  Superintendent

  Amanda Delfosse

  Superintendent

  Suffolk Construction

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  Sue Clineff

  Sue Clineff is Vice President and West Region Manager for H2I Group, a leading provider of laboratory furniture, equipment, and integrated solutions for research, healthcare, education, and life science facilities. With more than 16 years of experience in laboratory and research environments, she partners with owners, designers, and construction teams to deliver innovative, client-focused solutions for complex projects nationwide.

  H2I

  VP

  Moderator

  Sue Clineff

  VP

  H2I

AI & Biotech Labs: How Data, Automation & Analytics Are Transforming Research and Delivery

From R&D and Space Utilization to Smart Buildings and Predictive Operations

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  Julio de Unamuno IV

  Coached 52 life science startups to achieve more than $1.5 Billion in exits and funds raised over 5 years as founding Executive Director. • Lead recruitment and mentorship programs for startups in collaboration with UC San Diego's Office of Innovation and Commercialization. • Develop and deliver programming and operations for pre-seed and seed-stage life sciences and digital health accelerators, driving innovation initiatives across campus. • Form strategic partnerships between the university and industry groups, cultivating an entrepreneurial culture on campus. • Received $1.5M matching grant for seed fund initiative empowering early-stage entrepreneurs with an emphasis on diversity and inclusivity, especially for underrepresented communities.

  HomeLab

  Managing Director

  Julio de Unamuno IV

  Managing Director

  HomeLab

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  Robert Fagnant

  An associate partner with Syska Hennessy Group, Robert manages staff and projects across the multi-discipline MEP services. Robert has extensive experience with laboratory and life sciences projects including spaces for ISO cleanroom pharma manufacturing, electron microscopy, mass spectroscopy, BSL-3 containment, NMR environments, neuropharmacology and electrophysiology. He’s worked on projects with The Scripps Research Institute, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, The Burnham Institute, Pfizer and Genentech. Robert’s depth of experience in both design and project management enhances collaboration with owners, architects, and contractors.

  Syska Hennessy Group

  Associate Partner

  Robert Fagnant

  Associate Partner

  Syska Hennessy Group

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  John Pittman

  John, an Education and Science Principal for HDR’s California practice, is a seasoned design professional with more than 35 years of experience in program management, architecture, strategic leadership and project management. He has successfully led multidisciplinary teams across global offices, delivering complex capital programs with consistent success in budget alignment, project execution, and client satisfaction. His leadership has played a key role in expanding market share and building inclusive, high-performing teams. He has been involved in facilities that empower scientists to discover cures for devastating diseases, develop clean energy solutions, protect natural resources and improve public health, enriching people’s lives around the world.

  HDR

  Education and Science Principal

  John Pittman

  Education and Science Principal

  HDR

• Moderator

  Aaron Blum

  Associate

  PARADIGM Structural Engineers

Life Sciences Macro Outlook: Demand, Location, Leasing & Recovery

How the Bay Area Sustains Momentum and Growth as a Global Innovation Hub

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  Michelle Nemits

  As Executive Director of Biocom’s South San Francisco office, Michelle is responsible for building the framework for enabling the creation of a strong, well-connected life science community in the Bay Area. She leads Biocom’s programming and benefits efforts and helps raise awareness of the region’s innovations and accomplishments. Michelle has spent over 20 years in Bay Area life science sales, marketing and business development. She has held leadership roles at a large lab supply distributor and at a biotech tools startup, which fostered her broad view of the Bay Area market, its challenges and its opportunities.

  Biocom

  Executive Director, Bay Area

  Michelle Nemits

  Executive Director, Bay Area

  Biocom

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  Alex Browne

  National Director, Research & Life Sciences

  Transwestern

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  Tyler Meyerdirk

  Seasoned commercial real estate professional with 22 years of expertise in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a focus on value-add investing in the last 5 years as a Principal at Paceline Investors. Prior to moving to the principal side of the business, Tyler enjoyed a successful career as an investment sales broker, completed 289 closed transactions representing $18.3 billion in volume. Most recently as a Senior Managing Director at Newmark, Tyler demonstrated a proven track record in business generation, creative deal structuring, and successful strategic organization and development. Tyler played a pivotal role in driving significant market share, closing $4.4 billion in transactions within 24 months and propelling the firm to a 33% market share in the San Francisco Bay Area. His expertise spans office and industrial investment properties, serving a diverse clientele of institutional investors, operators/developers, corporate users, and private investors. Prior to his role at Newmark, Tyler spent twelve years at CBRE, where he was an integral member of a top-performing investment sales team. During his tenure, he played a key role in the $1.323 billion Mission West transaction, the largest real estate portfolio sale in Silicon Valley history. Tyler's career progression at CBRE saw him rise from analyst to Partner, consistently demonstrating exceptional performance and leadership. Tyler holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics and Finance from the University of Kansas.

  Paceline Investors

  Principal

  Tyler Meyerdirk

  Principal

  Paceline Investors

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  Tony Natsis

  A name partner of the firm, Anton N. Natsis is Chair of Allen Matkins’ Real Estate Department and is one of the top real estate attorneys in the United States. His practice focuses on development, leasing, purchase and sale, and portfolio investment sales transactions involving office, retail, and industrial projects, as well as arbitrating numerous fair market value disputes, CAM disputes and other significant landlord/tenant disputes. He also has extensive experience in debt, equity, and joint venture workouts, and the purchase of distressed assets and distressed debt. Tony is continually sought out by some of the largest national land owners, such as J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Blackstone Real Estate, Brookfield Properties, HCP, Vornado Realty Trust, Regent Properties, The Irvine Company, Boston Properties, Equity Office Properties, Kilroy Realty, Inc., Beacon Capital Partners, MPG Office Trust, Kamehameha Schools (The Bishop Estate) and Westfield Corporation. He represents many governmental entities, including the LAUSD, State of California, and City of Anaheim. Tony is also frequently retained as counsel for major national office tenants, such as AT&T, Citicorp, the FDIC, AIG, The Walt Disney Company, and the Los Angeles Times. A frequent lecturer and author, Tony is the chief consultant for the California Continuing Education of the Bar Commercial Leasing Series, the legal education reference book on leasing for California attorneys, is an adjunct professor of law at Loyola Law School for a course covering commercial real estate transactions, and has spoken before such national real estate groups as ULI and BOMA. Tony is a founding board member of The Ziman Real Estate Center, which is governed under the joint auspices of the UCLA Anderson School of Business and the UCLA Law School. In the past decade, Tony has closed commercial office leases exceeding 50 million square feet. He has worked on real estate purchase contracts with a total consideration of more than $30 billion and on development transactions with a total consideration in excess of $25 billion. Since 2006, Tony has represented clients in office building portfolio investment sales transactions involving over $75 billion of consideration. One of Tony's most significant transactions is the largest real estate acquisition deal in the history of the United States. He provided extensive real estate services in connection with Blackstone Real Estate's purchase of Equity Office Properties Trust, at that point the largest owner of office space in the U.S. other than the Federal Government, for $43 billion. Subsequently, Blackstone contracted to sell over 50% of the properties it purchased with such sales closing in the first and second quarter of 2007. Tony assisted Blackstone in its acquisition due diligence related to EOP and the subsequent sales of the properties. The transactions related to this deal included Maguire Properties' purchase of Blackstone/EOP in Orange County for $2 billion, Irvine Company's purchase of Blackstone/EOP in San Diego for $1 billion, Morgan Stanley's purchase of Blackstone/EOP in San Francisco for $2.5 billion, and Beacon Capital Partners’ purchase of Blackstone/EOP Seattle for $6.3 billion.

  Allen Matkins

  Partner

  Moderator

  Tony Natsis

  Partner

  Allen Matkins

Remarks from the Podium

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  Lisa Manning

  Lisa is an experienced Vice President of Business Development with 16 years’ experience crafting tailored facility solutions across diverse sectors such as Life Sciences, high tech, medical office parks, and multi-tenant Class A office buildings and campuses. Early in her career, she worked on the operations side of the business, gaining hands-on experience and a deep understanding of the ins and outs of the business. This foundation has proven invaluable in delivering effective solutions for Flagship clients. In the past three years, Manning has directed her focus toward serving the unique needs of Life Sciences companies, bringing a wealth of operational experience and a keen understanding of the intricacies involved. Recognizing the individuality of each company, she customizes solutions to enhance efficiency within laboratories and offices, allowing companies and their employees to concentrate on their core strengths. Lisa enhances her skills through participation in various industry and service- specific training programs and certifications. She is actively engaged in the Life Sciences community, holding a position on the EH&S Facility Committee at BioCom. In 2020, she achieved the Facilities Management Professional (FMP) designation from the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) and is on the verge of completing her IFMA Sustainability Facility Professional (SFP) credential, which acknowledges her expertise in sustainable facility management practices.

  FlagShip Lab Services

  VP, Business Development

  Lisa Manning

  VP, Business Development

  FlagShip Lab Services

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  J.P. Casabar

  J.P. has always had a passion for helping others, which led him to obtain a degree in Cell & Molecular Biology and begin a career in Life Sciences Research & Development. As Flagship’s Sr. Director of Lab Services, J.P. oversees lab operations support in Southern California. His experience includes compound management and high-throughput automation for large pharma as well as personnel management, organizational analysis, and retail operations. In his free time, J.P. enjoys the outdoors, performing volunteer work, and supporting local organizations such as the San Diego Blood Bank, San Diego Wildlife Alliance, and CERT.

  FlagShip Lab Services

  Sr. Director

  J.P. Casabar

  Sr. Director

  FlagShip Lab Services